Ed, Thanks. You confirm my thoughts on the issue. Appreciate your reply.
Tony -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ed Kramer Sent: October 25, 2007 1:42 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Fire Department boost pressure Tony, RE ? #1: Don't allow yourself to get caught up with the list of occupancies that typically fall into the various hazard categories. The definitions of light and ordinary hazards may very well mean that your museum is more than a light hazard. RE your 2nd question: I think the intent of the increased design area is to recognize that a fire originating in the non-sprinklered crawl space may bust out in multiple places and fuse more sprinklers than what would be included in a 1500 sf DA. So what you should ask yourself: Could a fire originating in and breaking out of the crawl space reasonably be expected to fuse sprinklers at the various levels? If 'yes', then those sprinklers should be in the design area. RE the bonus question: Any sprinkler system with an FDC has the potential to be pressurized in excess of 175, regardless of the strength or weakness of the city supply. The responding fire dept has the ability to regulate how much pressure boost they provide. If they choose, they can keep it under 175. And if they don't, I've personally not heard of a maintained system that blew apart at 200. I'm sure it happens, but I'm guessing its very rare. Ed Kramer Littleton, CO >This is two questions in one posting. A two for one deal. > >I'm designing a sprinkler system for a grain elevator that has been >taken out of service, and now used as a museum. It will be cleaned and >there will be no more grain. This building has a footprint of approx. >2000 sf. So crawlspace and main floor are 2000 sf each. The area >housing the 7 grain bins is about 80 feet high and has a foot print of >approx. 1000 sf (included in the main floor 2000 sf). At the very top >there is a lower penthouse and upper penthouse (about 300 sf each). The >building area is small, but due to sloped roofs and obstructions, >requires about 110 sprinkler heads. > >The first question: Although it is classified as a museum, I'm >designing it for OH1 occupancy. The entire building is exposed wood >construction and very dry. If there is a fire the fuel load is very >high. Any comments? > >Now there is a crawlspace area under the bins that is combustible and >not accessible. The owner does not want this area to be sprinklered. So >kicks in the 3000 sf requirement. > >Second question: Should I include heads a diffent levels in my calcs.? >The city supply (110 static pressure) is enough to supply about 30 >sprinklers at different levels at the top (excluding the penthouses >which are not open to the rest of the building). Should I be includng >additional sprinklers from the penthouses and lower levels? > >If I did include additional heads, the city supply is insufficient. But >the owner (who is the City) has told me that if the city supply is not >enough, it will be boosted by the responding fire department and they >will issue a variance to that effect. > >So the third question (I cheated there were three), which would apply >to other buildings also that have high pressure water supply. Do I need >a pressure reducing valve? The fire dept. boost is typically over 100 psi. > >Tony _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field) _______________________________________________ Sprinklerforum mailing list [email protected] http://lists.firesprinkler.org/mailman/listinfo/sprinklerforum To Unsubscribe, send an email to:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Put the word unsubscribe in the subject field)
